"Give me the case summary. Quickly."
He urged his subordinate to find out what had happened.
Arachnid appeared again?
That couldn’t be. Arte had definitely been there.
There was no way Arachnid had shown up...
"Yes, yes. Just as I reported over the phone. The spider emblem drawn in blood and the dismembered corpse. It’s Arachnid. The victim this time was also a villain—wanted for rape and murder."
"What’s different?"
"Maybe that the body wasn’t cut into small pieces. And there wasn’t any writing saying ‘Arachnid was here.’ We’re also considering the possibility of a copycat."
A copycat?
No, that wasn’t it. Hayul thought so.
…There was no evidence.
Maybe he was just overthinking it. As Claire had said, she might really be a junior trying her best to become a hero.
But it still bothered him. At first, he’d thought it was too suspicious for her to be the culprit.
Now, it wasn’t that. It felt more like she was mocking him.
Like the expression of a spectator staring at a tiger locked in a zoo enclosure.
She seemed to think of him as nothing more than a tiger in a zoo cage.
If the cage were opened and he approached, he’d be a threat—but since that wouldn’t happen, she could enjoy the spectacle like a tourist.
"Damn it. She’s toying with me."
"Huh?"
"Nothing. …Is there a chance there’s more than one Arachnid?"
"Do you think it’s a conflict between villain organizations?"
He nodded at his subordinate’s words.
If there was more than one Arachnid, that would explain things.
She must have noticed he was suspecting her without any evidence.
As if mocking him, she’d thrown one of her underlings at him, and when he still didn’t drop his suspicions, she’d had someone else commit the crime while she was meeting with him.
…That made sense, logically.
But was that really the case?
Was it okay to suspect someone this much just because they seemed suspicious, with no real evidence?
Maybe he was overcomplicating things. Maybe it really was a copycat, and the real culprit had already been caught.
His thoughts grew tangled.
…What should he do when he couldn’t think of anything else?
After agonizing for a while, Hayul decided to change his approach.
"Sorry, but I need you to handle that case for a bit. There’s someone I have to meet."
"W-what?! But I’m not sure I’m ready to—"
"I trust you. Take care of it."
"…! Yes, sir!"
This guy was easy.
A little flattery, and he’d happily take on the work. It made things convenient.
"By the way, who are you going to meet?"
"No one important. If we’re meeting the suspect, we should meet the people around them too."
Especially if they were connected to the case.
He picked up the documents scattered across his desk.
"First, I should meet this Yu Siwoo kid."
"So you came to me for that?"
"Yeah. Thought you might know something."
He returned the notebook she’d given him, proof of her status as an Association investigator.
After that incident, there hadn’t been any follow-up, so he’d completely forgotten about it.
So she’d been looking into the mastermind behind it all this time.
It was a shame Amelia wasn’t here.
She’d be far better suited for this kind of thing than me… even if she was a little extreme.
What should I do?
The investigator said she was chasing the culprit behind that incident, but no matter how I thought about it, there was only one person who came to mind.
Arte.
"You and your friend were the only ones near the scene at the time. Do you know anything?"
"No. I was too flustered by the attack to think about that sort of thing."
"Right… Was there anything strange? Like your friend disappearing?"
She’s being pretty direct.
She didn’t even bother hiding the fact that she suspected Arte.
Her sharp gaze felt like she was glaring at a criminal, and I flinched without realizing it.
"…Ah, sorry. My eyes are just naturally sharp. Don’t worry. You won’t get arrested or anything."
"Y-Yes…"
Did she think I flinched because I was worried about getting arrested?
She was trying to reassure me.
But that wasn’t what I was worried about.
Was it really okay to drag this woman into stopping Arte?
She’d definitely be useful. That much was certain.
There was no way the Association’s superhuman crime investigator wouldn’t be helpful.
…But something felt off.
Why was she trying to get information from me?
I’d seen yesterday’s news too.
It said that Arachne—the one who brutally killed countless villains—had been captured.
Arte’s identity was something both Amelia and I had already guessed. She was the only one who’d been missing from that place for a while.
That’s why the news had been so disappointing.
I’d assumed we couldn’t count on the Association’s help.
So why the sudden change?
"Anything at all. If you noticed something suspicious, let me know."
"…Why are you asking about that?"
"Hm?"
"Arachne was caught. Isn’t that what the news said?"
"Yeah, it was. Caused quite a stir. Did you see it online?"
"…Yes."
The internet had exploded with reactions.
And for good reason. A huge number of troublesome villains had been wiped out.
Not just one or two—around two hundred of them.
"There’s even talk about releasing Arachne."
"That’s…"
"I know. It’s extreme. But you know how people feel about villains, right?"
Yeah. They hate them.
Or maybe it’s more accurate to say they despise them.
Why should they feed and house criminals who disrupt their peaceful lives?
Some even say they should all be killed. That criminals don’t deserve human rights.
Superhumans, already stretched thin dealing with monsters in the outskirts, are tied up in cities for public order—social parasites who only cause chaos.
…That’s how citizens see villains.
In a world where hatred for criminals runs this deep, Arachne had cleanly eliminated villains who would’ve just ended up in prison, living off taxpayer money.
A villain killer who’d never harmed a civilian, only slaughtering villains.
Of course extreme opinions were bound to surface.
"But regardless of public opinion, a crime is a crime, and murder is murder. …By the way, Arachne still hasn’t been caught."
"…"
"Today, another victim of Arachne appeared."
"W-what?!"
Her words startled me, but at the same time, I was certain.
Of course. The culprit was Arte. She was Arachne.
Otherwise, there was no way new victims would keep appearing after the supposed culprit had already been caught.
"It hasn’t been reported in the media yet, but it will be soon. This victim was also a villain. …Though they’re planning to call it a copycat case."
"A c-copycat?"
"Yeah. If they announced they’d caught the culprit and then admitted a mistake the very next day, the Association’s reputation would take a huge hit."
It was just the higher-ups covering their tracks with some spin.
After saying that, she pressed her body against mine and grabbed my hand, her expression desperate.
"To stop more victims from appearing, if you’ve noticed anything suspicious, tell me. Even the smallest detail is fine. Evidence would be even better."
"I-if that’s the case…"
Should I say it?
That Arte was suspicious?
Would she just laugh it off as absurd?
In truth, it felt like she was behind all the recent incidents. …But even if I said that, would she believe me?
Even if she did, what could she do alone? And even if she believed me, would the Association?
I closed my mouth to think over what to do, and she patiently waited for me, as if she’d give me all the time I needed.
Silence instantly settled around us.
"What interesting conversation are you having? Let me join."
And that silence was shattered in an instant by an intruder.
"Ah, Arte. Nice to see you."
"We meet again, Investigator. What brings you here today?"
"I was worried the students might be struggling psychologically after the attack, so I came to offer some counseling."
"Ah, I see. That’s kind of you."
"Well then, Yu Siwoo. You seem fine, so I’ll take my leave. If you need counseling, contact me at this number."
Investigator Ha Yul swiftly excused herself.
…As if she hadn’t expected Arte to show up.
As if she’d just had bad luck.
"Hey, Arte."
"Hello. I saw you talking to the investigator outside. …Was I interrupting?"
"No, not at all."
I realized something from that exchange.
The investigator suspected Arte, but she didn’t have enough information.
She hadn’t considered that if we talked in an open place like this, Arte would come find us.
"That investigator is something else. No need to worry so much. …Right?"
"…Yeah. I am an Academy student, after all. I can handle that much."
"Hehe. How reliable. Well, I’ll be going. You should head back soon too, yes? Things are unsettled these days."
Just as suddenly as she’d appeared, Arte vanished from the scene, and I found myself thinking—
…I wasn’t even surprised when Arte showed up out of nowhere.
Had I grown used to her appearing at random times?
Siwoo let out a small sigh.
He never would’ve imagined getting used to someone constantly watching him. Life was full of surprises.